LeBron leaving Cavs in 2018? NBA execs reportedly say he's as good as gone

Multiple rival executives and scouts suggest LeBron James will join a new team next summer

LeBron James has another big decision to make in the summer of 2018. Similar to the first time he left Cleveland, and then Miami, nobody is sure what his plans are in the upcoming offseason. The expectation is James will opt out of the final year of his contract, but from that point on nobody is sure where he'll go from there.

According to a report from Ric Bucher of Bleacher Report, there is a growing feeling around the NBA that James will explore free agency this offseason and leave Cleveland. The reasoning? He's accomplished his goal of bringing a title to Cleveland and this has freed him in a sense to do what he wants with his career. Multiple league executives strongly feel that LeBron will be taking his talents to a new team.

"He's out," a Western Conference scout says.

"Foregone conclusion," one Eastern Conference general manager adds.

"I don't see him staying in Cleveland," another thinks.  

Where James goes is a mystery, although the Lakers are a popular name that comes up a lot. A bigger question is why he should leave Cleveland at all. He's an NBA Finals mainstay with seven straight appearances and it's almost expected to see him make it eight straight trips. And whatever happened to catching Michael Jordan? Many executives suggest that the Warriors adding Kevin Durant to set up a long run of dominance has changed James' mindset. 

"That was once his obsession," the source says. "But even if LeBron thinks he has five good years left, he's not thinking he's going to beat Golden State four out of the next five years. I don't think he's making it about that anymore. When he said, 'I don't have anything left to prove' during the Finals, that's where that came from." 

"LeBron did what he came to do [in Cleveland]," the scout says. "He needs to prove he can do it somewhere else now. Three different teams will make him more unique.  

The idea of James leaving once again is coming up a lot more often these days, but even so, it's truly impossible to predict what he's going to do at the moment. James has never been someone to make the predictable and easy decision. It was shocking when he left Cleveland for Miami the first time and it might have been even more shocking when he chose to go back. James has always kept a very close inner circle with little information getting out that he doesn't want out. Nobody will know what his true intentions are for next offseason until he's ready to make that clear.